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UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS S. RIGGS, OF SELMA, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO ALLEN P. IIOWISON AND JOHN G. MURRAY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471,023, dated March 15, 1892.

Application iiled November 20, 1.891. Serial 110.412,494. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be itknown that I, LEWIS S. RIGGS, of Selma, in the county of Dallas and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oar-Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in carcouplings, seeking to provide means which may, when the conventional draw-head is broken or disabled in any Way, be quickly substituted therefor and efficiently serve in temporarily coupling cars; and the invention con- I sists in certain novel constructions and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view showing the usual draw-head broken. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the improved jawbolt applied, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of the jaw-bolt.

It is the common practice at present when a draw-head is broken or the coupling is otherwise disabled to tie the adjacent cars together temporarily with long chains. This is objectionable forthe reasons that it is ditcult to properly apply the chain, there is danger of its pulling out the portions of the car to which it is connected, and the cars are likely to be damaged by the hammering of the cars together, because of the excess of slack. My invention seeks to provide a simple, cheap, and light construction which can be quickly substituted for the usual draw-head, and comprises a jaw-bolt A,havinga shank B, adapted to be inserted through the openings O in the frame-plates D D and through the spring E, securedat its rear end by the pin and washer,

as shown, and provided at its front end with jaws F F, having an intermediate slot 4or space f to receive a link of the connecting- 4o chain G, and the said jaws are perforated at H fortlie pin 7i, which secures the chain between the jaws. This jaw-bolt being light and inexpensive can be conveniently carried in the caboose, and in case the draw-head of 45 any car becomes disabled the jaw-bolt can be quickly substituted and will efficiently serve its purpose. It will also be seen that if two meeting draw-heads become vdisabled a jawbolt can be substituted for each and the cars 5o be again coupled as desired.

In Fig. l I show a draw-head disabled by being broken out. In Fig. 2 the jaw-bolt is shown applied in position for use.

It will be seen that the improvement is sim- 5 5 ple, inexpensive, and can be quickly applied for use.

The pin h may be provided with a washer h and a fastening-key h2, as shown in Fig. 3.

Having thus described my invention, what I 6o claim as new is- In a car-coupling, the combination of the draw-head sills, the frame-plates D D', having openings C and the spring E, and the jawbolt having its shank inserted through the 65 openings O in the platesD D and spring E and provided at its front end with jaws F F, separated by an intermediate space f and provided with perforations I-I, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

LEWIS S. RIGGS.

Witnesses:

P. B. TURPIN, JOHN G. MURRAY. 

